Monday, February 27, 2012

Connected world demands relationships, not just eyeballs

BARCELONA, SPAIN: The GSMA predicted there will be 24 billion connected devices by 2020, but the MWC Connected Consumer keynote speakers from eBay, Best Buy and IPG warned that brands will not reap the benefits unless they rethink the way they interact with consumers.

Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, was in the audience and has the following comment: “We could not agree more, and urge brands to approach mobile advertising in terms of relationships, not just eyeballs and reach alone. Mobile advertising is about engagement. Facebook for one is super aware of this and will make it a mantra when it launches mobile advertising in the coming months.

“eBay mentioned an iPad app that illustrates how this can work - the app in question alerts eBay users of inventory related to the program they are watching. The eBay app also underscores the notion that mobile advertising has to be relevant or it will be ignored or perceived as spam.

“There is also a danger that social media savvy consumers will hit back: "If you pepper consumers with stuff they are not interested in you will get vigilante consumers who will shut you out," warned Interpublic Group’s CEO and chairman Michael Roth.

“Another key theme to emerge from the Connected Consumer Keynote is that connected devices have the potential to be the central dashboard of people’s lives. But the industry, particularly operators, must do more to make this a reality. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn warns that operators’ expensive, confusing data plans and locked devices are inhibiting visions of a connected world. We agree – the connected consumer value proposition is not being fully developed.”